Archimedes' hidden writings to go on display

Teams of scientists and scholars spent 12 years using a variety of methods, including X-rays produced by a particle accelerator at Stanford University, to recover the parchment texts that had been hidden for centuries after they were written over in the Middle Ages.

But before they could begin, curators spent four years taking the fragile book apart because of damage from mold and a spine covered in modern synthetic glue.

The parchment, known as a palimpsest, contains the only known copies of some of Archimedes' works.

The exhibit, "Lost and Found: The Secrets of Archimedes," opens Oct. 16 and runs through Jan. 1.